Three Stories
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: Laxus has a long past and, from bedtime stories to remnants of his youth, he finds a way to connect with all three of his sons. - one-shot, part of the Parenthood series.


The boys were all three of ages that, while close together, could also be seen as being far apart. Nathan frequently felt too old to hang around Pike, while Mace, in the middle, was drawn to interests both boys held. There were things Mace and Nathan did that Pike feared while there were others that he did at on a regular basis. At the core all things they did though, regardless of age range, was the same sense of childishness and wonder. Nate might be training to be a mage, but was still amazed, the same as Pike and Mace, by the different sorts of things this entailed. Pike and Mace might still not mind hearing bedtime stories, but Nate too could be captivated by one, regardless of his assertions he was too old for them.

They just had to be given to him in different ways.

And though Mirajane was all of the boys favorite (and with good reason; she was Laxus' favorite too), the nighttime routine she'd set in place since Nathan was first presented to her was music. She loved to play her guitar for her sleepless boys until they found contentment and drifted off. Even Laxus did mind hearing her strumming away as he searched for slumber.

Still, the best story teller overall was by far their father. Laxus. Not only had the man had more adventures than Gramps and Mirajane combined (or at least it felt that way), he also was shockingly well read. It was something Laxus didn't like to let on to most people, but when he was home and had some downtime, he'd always enjoyed reading novels, typically of the adventure variety, to pass time.

He found it helped calm him.

And, as his boys grew, he found it helped in the stories that he told them.

Pike still felt like a baby in many ways, making it far more often that Laxus found he had to break out a story or two for the boy. That situation found them one summer morning when Pike woke up with a stomach ache and had to miss out on whatever the older boys were doing that day, instead staying home to nurse his illness.

He was less than amused by the thought.

Their Aunt Lisanna was taking them all to some sort of festival and it just wasn't fair that he was going to miss out on it. He even tried to insist that he wasn't sick (which was odd for Pike), but his fever told a different story and Mirajane sentenced him to bed.

Unlike his father, his mother could not be overruled. She, after all, was the one that did all the overruling.

Laxus had been planning on taking off on a job that day, but elected to stick around a bit longer, to care for the boy, so that Mirajane didn't have to miss work and they weren't relying on Makarov when the boy inevitably got the whole house sick (with the boys, this tended to be the case).

Plus, it gave him a whole 'nother day with his tiny little baby girl Ivory. And he loved spending all the time in the world he could with her.

Mainly because she'd yet to choose Mirajane over him…

Laxus had just finished getting Ivory down for her nap when he heard Pike getting sick in the bathroom again and, after a few tears from the boy and whines, he got him to head back to bed. He was pretty upset by the whole thing, Pike was, because Pike was always upset about things, but Laxus only sat on the edge of the boy's bed and gently patted at his stomach.

"Why don't you listen to a story, bubba?" he propositioned then. "Would you like that?"

Maybe. He hoped he would. Anything to take his mind off what his stomach was going through in that moment.

"Let's see," the man sighed a bit as thought, glancing up at the ceiling while pondering. "What story can I tell you?"

"One about," Pike sniffled some, "a dragon?"

"Of course, buddy." And he smiled at the boy then, the real one he saved for his kids, before beginning.

"A long time ago," the slayer said, "on an island far away, there was man and his friends. And, see, they all were on that island for a variety of reasons. Somewhere there for fortune, some for fame, others for family, but they didn't realize at the time that there was one very important reason why they were all there that they all shared."

"What's that, Daddy?" Pike asked from beneath his blankets (he'd gotten quite a chill).

"Because," he whispered then as his voice dropped a bit. "There was a dragon headed their way."

Pike shifted some and Laxus looked him dead in the eyes then as he continued on.

"A sickening beast, it was," the man continued. "Scales so slick their obsidian blackness reminiscent of the dark underbelly of afterlife. It shined in the blistering sun enough so that you could even see your reflection in it. If you were so unlucky, of course, to be close enough to the beast to do so. How unfortunate for the ones who were."

"Did eat 'em?"

Instead of answering the direct question, Laxus only told him, "Perish the thought, Pike. For when the dragon opened his disgustingly vicious mouth, the view of razor sharp teeth, sharpened to a point welcomed you. Rows upon rows of the terrible stained yellow view, though worst of all, of course, was the speckles of rot intermingled with the crimson stains of victims of old. You had little time to fear the stench of his rancid breath as opening his mouth surely meant he was rearing back to preform the most gruesome sight one could imagine. His roar was so powerful it ripped the flesh right off the bone of those before him, drowning out their own screams of peril as-"

"Daddy, stop! I don't wanna hear this."

His smile returned then, Laxus' did, before he said, "But we haven't gotten to the good part yet."

"What?"

"The man and all his friends," Laxus continued, "were there for one singular reason, right? Do you know what it was?"

"What?"

"It was because they were the only people on the entirety of Earth Land that could ever manage to beat him."

"But how could they do it?" the little boy, who feared even his own shadow asked, asked as he peeked out from the blanket he'd pulled to nearly the top of his head. "Daddy? When the Dragon sounds so horrible and scary? Weren't they afraid?"

"Of course they were afraid. Everyone's afraid. All the time," the man assured him with a nod of his head. "But just because you're afraid of something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. That you don't have to do it. It's better to die facing your fears than die cowering from it, isn't it? What do you wanna be, Pike? A coward? Or a hero?"

"I just wanna stay in bed."

"Well, lucky for everyone, the man and his friends didn't feel that way," his father sighed a bit. "Or, if they did, they buried it deep down as they face the foul beast on the island that didn't feel so large any longer. They'd trained for this, of course, over the years. It had been the only thing that they had trained for. Their entire lives and identities had been shaped around this moment. They were dragon slayers. And that meant that they either slayed this terrible atrocity or they turned in their titles."

"So they did?" came the hushed whimper from beneath the blanket.

No.

They hadn't.

They'd been ushered into a time lock, rather, to save them from their inevitable demise.

"Yes," Laxus said instead. "They did."

Because that was one of the things about kids, wasn't it? You didn't wanna lie to them, but sometimes you had to. To save their poor little sensibilities. There did come a time though when lies and fantasy were no longer what you had to use to connect with your children. Bedtime stories were becoming far and fewer in between and they needed real guidance. But just lecturing them wouldn't work, so you have to come up with some way to connect to them.

"Why don't they want me?"

The questioned was posed to Laxus one day by his nephew, Mace, who was definitely an ugly crier, after once more being dropped at his aunt and uncle's home for yet another unknown long stretch of time as Elfman and Evergreen went on to do whatever it was that they did.

Take jobs? Maybe. They always said this, but Laxus rarely saw any major jewels being brought in by the two that would justify being gone as long as they typically were. More often than not, it felt like they were just saddling Mirajane and Laxus with their fucking kid.

Which was a harsh way of putting things.

Laxus wasn't the type of guy to go around just showing his feelings, but he thought that it was pretty obvious to everyone that he liked his nephew. Loved the kid, maybe, even. He treated him just like he was one of his own.

But the thing was, he wasn't.

And he and Mirajane weren't just rolling in doe. They'd recently had a new baby and Makarov was living with them then and it was just a lot. They essentially had a four kids and an old man. It was a lot to balance. While Mace was a nice kid and definitely not a problem to have around, the finances involved with him could feel that way sometimes.

And it was beyond both Evergreen and Elfman to think to offer up any jewels or compensation for dropping their kid on the Dreyar doorstep probably three weeks out of four (at best) since the time the boy was a toddler. Neither Mira nor Laxus knew how to rightly bring this up either (although the latter had a few) without hurting a few feelings. Or, worst of all, Mace's.

The thing they didn't understand though was that Mace was growing up. They all were. All the boys. And as they grew they realized things. One day, Pike would realize his shadow wasn't trying to chase him and Nate would discover a terrible truth.

For Mace though, his discoveries were coming at a far faster rate.

He was clearly sour when Evergreen dropped him off that day, patting him gently on the head and assuring him that if she could stay home, with him, she would. But she couldn't. So he just had to go stay with his aunt and uncle. Again. For awhile.

It was so sucky to him. The entire thing. He loved his aunt and uncle and his cousins and Gramps was practically his gramps now too, but…

Mace's parents were odd. Different. They fought. A lot. And when they weren't fighting, they were usually doing little things that would annoy the other so that they could start fighting again. Either that or they were training. Endlessly. Rarely did they find the time to sit around and play with him, like his Aunt Mirajane and Uncle Laxus. Never did they wanna take him to the park or out to eat or even to watch them train.

It was a harsh age to come to the realization that your parents were selfish assholes, but, well, it happened to the best.

That morning as he arrived with his bag and a scowl, his aunt was on her way out to the guild, but Uncle Laxus was very busy getting the kids all ready for a fun day in the park, he said. Then he had some other stuff to do, so he'd drop them back by the house where Mira would have gotten off by then and she'd let them help her get dinner ready.

It was a typical day in the Dreyar household.

But…

The idea of the normalcy didn't bring any comfort to Mace. At all. He wasn't in a good mood as Nate got to push Ivory's stroller on the way to the park or as Pike walked beside him, taking loudly about the lunches Mira had packed for them, already, but Uncle Laxus would probably just let Mace have his, since he was there then. Or they could share, Pike even offered.

But Mace didn't wanna share.

He didn't want to be the third wheel on the Dreyar family. He didn't wanna be 'like' Mira and Laxus' middle son. He wanted his own family. He had his own family. But…

It was when Laxus, after setting Ivory up with Gramps on the bench, told the boys that they could practice that day, not their magic, but their brute strength, and try whatever they could to bring him down to his knees, that something snapped in Mace.

It was as he only stood by and watched Nate try to transform into things, in an attempt to bulldoze over his father, and Pike, not one for violence much, come over to kick at his shins and hope for the best, that it just became too much for Mace to handle. He felt the hot tears as they welled up in his eyes while his arms crossed over his chest and he just hated it.

The entire thing.

Why did Laxus, who was a way better and stronger mage than his parents, get to find all this time to play with his two kids? Was it because he wanted to? Why? Mace felt like he was way better behaved than Nate. And he wasn't a big scaredy-cat like Pike. He was a good, strong, little boy who didn't talk back much and was very intent on learning the craft of magic.

So what was wrong with him?

"Mace is crying!" Pike tattled when he noticed and Nate was just about to try and transform into some kind of bird, so he could pick Laxus up and literally drop him down (this would have failed anyways, honestly), but stopped then to frown over at his cousin.

"You big baby. Why are you crying? No one's even done anything to you yet!" Nate taunted though this was drowned in confusion as well because he truly didn't understand what was going on with his cousin. In a kid his age though, confusion can result in lashing out towards the thing causing the confusion.

Which, in theory, was also what was happening to Mace at that moment too.

He was just so angry. At Nate and Pike for getting to play with their dad, but Laxus too, for bring him there to watch them get to play. It was so aggravating for the little boy and he just didn't know how to express it.

Other than hot, angry tears.

"Mace." Laxus was coming over to him then. "What's wrong with you? Huh? You didn't get bit by a bug or something did you?"

The second that Laxus was close enough though, Mace tried to shove him away (which, of course, didn't work) and Nate cheered thinking his cousin was playing some sort of long con and was attempting to help them in their mission to take down the slayer (no one ever said that Nate was the brightest of the bunch), but this was short lived as the other boy was quickly turning to run off.

"Mace!" Pike called after him as even the Master took note of what was happening, over where he was watching (napping) Ivory. "Where are you going?"

He wasn't rightly sure. Away from them, at least. The situation. Hopefully to his parents, but he didn't make it that far, of course, because after nodding over at his grandfather, as if to get assurance that he had the other kids, Laxus took off after Mace, running him down rather easily.

"Mace!" And he grabbed his arm hard, pulling the boy to a harsh stop. "What are you doing? What is wrong with- Mace!"

He'd only took to trying to shove his uncle's hand off him (it didn't work too well, of course, considering the man had a grip on him then). "Leave me alone!"

"Mace, knock this off. Right now. What's wrong with you?"

He didn't know. How could he? His processing wasn't the best, at such an age, and though he knew that he was feeling upset by the things that were going on around him, to vocalize this properly was nearly impossible. Which is why, through grit teeth, he could only get out one thing.

"Why don't they want me?"

Laxus felt unease sweep over his body then as he finally let the boy go who only reached up to start rubbing at his tear stained cheek, no doubt embarrassed by the display.

"Who, Mace?"

He wouldn't answer his uncle, but it wasn't like the man didn't know. Of course he did.

He'd always known.

Laxus hadn't wanted Nate, when the boy was first left by his mother. He'd tried numerous times to get rid of him. It was finally a realization that not only did he care about the little brat, but also that there was something inside of him, some sort of pull, that he recognized the boy's well being surpassed his own.

As someone who'd been there from the jump of Ever and Elfman's ill-fated relationship and bring of a child into the world, he knew that they'd just never had this moment.

It wasn't that they were bad people. At all. Though he wasn't the man's biggest supporter, even Laxus had to admit that Elfman had a good heart. And he meant well. Sometimes though, his efforts were just a bit misplaced. And Evergreen might be a self-absorbed bitch, but she wasn't evil.

They were both just, well, rather self-centered.

Actually, a lot self-centered.

They'd never wanted to be parents, but got put into a situation that they were unable to climb out of. And they were trying. Though Laxus hated their attempts and saw through all the faults in them, he knew that they were certainly trying.

But…

Trying wasn't always enough when you were dealing with a kid.

And Laxus, above everyone else, knew this to be true.

After taking a deep breath, the slayer only let it out slowly before moving to tap the boy on the head and start walking again, this time passed him. Mace, though he was very angry, still, at everything, knew that he was meant to follow the man.

The park had a nice water feature, far away from where the other boys were and therefore away from any taunting or questions from them, and Laxus led him down to it where they stood, looking into it, in silence. Mace thought that he was supposed to say something, that his uncle wanted him to speak, but instead, after a few moments, Laxus found the words to do so.

"When I was a little boy, Mace, something really bad happened to me," he said softly. "Well, a lot of different things, but one thing in particular. I got very sick and no one thought that I was going to make it. So Ivan, my father, he took me out to this park- Did you know that this park has been around for that long?" When Mace shook his head, Laxus sneered a bit. "I ain't that old, I guess. Well, I was real sick and they didn't think I had long so Ivan, he took me when Gramps wasn't around, out of the hospital and out here. To the park."

"To play?"

"No. To talk." Laxus kicked at the ground. "He wanted to talk about something with me that was real important, he said. And brought me out to look at this little lake thing here, and he told me that he had a solution for me. That could help me to stop being so sick. And I wasn't feeling too well, but still, I got real excited at the idea of it. That I could be better. That my dad was going to make me better. But, he said, Gramps, he didn't want me to get better. He wouldn't let me get better. So no matter what the old man said, I couldn't listen to him, alright? I had to listen to Ivan. My dad. My father. He was going to talk to the surgeon and get a lacrima implanted in me."

"Your dragon lacrima?"

"That's the one, kid." Then Laxus snorted a bit, looking up at the sky. "Ivan said it would make me better. It would strengthen me. And that's what I did, I guess, but at that point, I think anyone would shove anything down in me that they thought might work. And it did work, anyways, so I guess it's a good story, huh? A happy ending, right?"

It sounded like it to Mace, anyways.

"But it wasn't. It's sick, you know? What Ivan wanted to do?" That time, Laxus looked down at his nephew. "He wanted to cut it outta me, Mace. The lacrima, once it was in me, had fused, you know? With my blood and veins and everything else that's inside of me. To get it out, he'd have to kill me. Ever wonder why you've never met my father, kid? It's because he's a terrible asshole who wanted to kill his only son, his only kid, just to get power. To get more power. More strength. Could you imagine that? No, you can't, huh? Neither could I.

"So I didn't believe it. Would would? It's crazy to even think about. Makarov though, Gramps, he knew his son. He knew that Ivan could do that exact thing. He knew the evil that was in him. So he sent him away. Forced his own son away. His own son. To protect me. And you know what I did? Huh? I took it out on 'im. Gramps. I thought that he'd sent my father away because he was some terrible person when, in actuality, he was the only one that really cared about me. He did it because he loved me. But I couldn't see that then, you know? I had to grow up. Learn. Understand. It was hard to do back then and led to me making a lot of terrible decisions, but eventually, I understood, you know? I understood that sometimes your parents are complete and utter fuck ups that have no real interest in what you need. For their own selfish reasons. You can love them and try to be good for them, but it's just never going to be enough. That's just the end of it.

"But...but there's always a Gramps out there, you know? There's always someone that does care about you. That does notice. And does care. You don't always want them. A lot of times you just want your parents, even though they're terrible and horrible and aren't any good for you. Because you're a kid. And you love them. Like you're supposed to. But they're just not always able or want to give that back. And it...sucks, doesn't it, Mace?"

The boy wasn't tearful anymore, but did nod slightly as he glanced up at his uncle. When he found the man looking at the water, he turned to the same.

"Yeah," he agreed softly. "It sucks a lot."

"But Mace, you can't let it eat at you and all that. Your aunt and I we… We're glad, you know? That your mom and dad let you come stay with us. We want you here. And don't let anything you ever hear us say when were upset or something at your parents make you think different. I would have given anything to have brothers like Pike and Nate, like you do, now. You guys are gonna all grow up together, you know? And when you're my age, it won't matter who wasn't there. Only who was. And your parents care about you. A bunch. If they didn't, they wouldn't make sure you were with me and your aunt. Who knows what they'd do with you. They just...they can't be here for you, all the time. But I am, aren't I? And Mirajane? And Gramps? I know it's not enough, but trust me, one day you'll look back and miss all this. I promise."

When they got back to the others, both boys wanted to know what was wrong with Mace, but Laxus only shushed them and said it was time for lunch, anyways. And as they all sat down in the grass to eat, Gramps and Pike helped Ivory with her mushy baby food while Laxus only gave his lunch to Mace and sat there, looking over all them silently. He'd more than filled his speaking requirements for the day.

But as they sat beside one another, Nate and Mace, the older boy only threw his arm around the younger's shoulder and didn't tease him for once. Just left it there as they sate.

And after awhile, Mace was all better again.

Nathan though, he was far more complex than the other boys. Though Laxus was, honestly, the only true parent he had, he rejected the man at every turn. He had since he'd been introduced into his father's life. He far preferred Mirajane and saw Laxus, in many was, as a tag along to that, instead of the other way around.

Not that Mirajane made this relationship any better.

Though she wouldn't admit it, Laxus was pretty certain that she enjoyed it, even. She could do all she wanted for Nathan, and she did, more than any other in his life ever had. But at the same time, she would never be his biological mother. It didn't matter, really, anywhere outside of her own head, but Laxus knew she thought about it at times. It was why she soiled Nathan so much more than his brother. She was so intent on proving to the boy, who knew no other mother anyways, that she did care for him as much as her own children, that at times she took things too far. And to get in return his unwavering love, to the point that he'd choose her over his own blood parent was…

Well, it was the little victories in life, right?

Laxus found his relationship with Nathan stunted for all the wrong reasons though and was rarely able to reach the boy. Nathan, clearly, thought all the good things one should of their father. He thought he was the strongest man in the world and was an incredible mage, and wanted to be just like him when he grew up.

The problem was that, after being given to Mirajane, Nathan formed such a strong connection to her that it was hard to break. Laxus, if anything, got in the way of that at times and it made Nathan a bit upset when he was younger. He wanted Mirajane to just hang around him all day and do the things he wanted. Like play cars or listen to her play guitar. Without Laxus around.

As he aged and this subsided though, he and Laxus had kind of drifted in ways. Life was good at forcing complacency. Laxus and Nate, while sharing some of the same interests, never found a way to openly speak on them. Nate was quick to lash out at him while Laxus, who wasn't the best at controlling his anger, found it hard to deal with.

Nathan wasn't a terrible kid, but gosh, he could be difficult at times.

He was too old for bedtime stories and wouldn't sit around, when he was upset, and let Laxus talk to him. That would only make him more upset. No. If Laxus wanted to tell the boy something, something that would take more than two sentences to get out, then he had to do it in far different ways.

"Your mother sure will be happy with us," Laxus said to his son in the evening hours one day as they stood out on the back porch. "Now she won't have to get dinner ready."

Nathan had taken to training with Lisanna in the ways of transformation magic. Nathan though that Strauss blood ran through his veins and it drew him straight to the takeover variety. Though this wasn't true, the mind was a powerful thing. Great at convincing. Or was deceiving?

He'd been out with his Aunt Lisanna anyways, training, and arrived back home to only find his father and Gramps there, the latter napping and the former getting dinner ready. When he asked for Nathan's help, the boy couldn't refuse.

Not when food was involved.

So they went out to the backyard and fired up the grill. Laxus, who'd only just returned from a job, had splurged a bit and, though there were hot dogs for the boys, gotten him, Gramps, and Mira some steak, as well as some sausage links and man, he couldn't wait to eat.

Mirajane had been gone for a bit as, at the boys whining about being bored, she'd taken Mace and Pike out on a walk with her and Ivory, just to get them all out of the house. Laxus had just missed them leaving, but was glad to find them gone as it would be a surprise when they came back. He knew that Mirajane worked hard at keeping all the kids lives in order as well as working nearly full time still up at the guildhall.

It was a lot.

To do something nice for her, even if ti was something he probably should be doing anyways, was all he really wanted.

He loved Mira and their family. He truly did.

Nathan showing up was great too as he'd been wanting to spend some alone time with his oldest for awhile. It wasn't easy to schedule that in and Nathan was typically pretty against it anyways. He seemed to both love and hate his father all at the same time.

That day though, he was more than excited about getting to go out and get the grill fired up. The smell of meat roasting was some of the best out there. And as the sunset, Laxus sipped at a beer and his son a soda as they awaited the rest of their family out on their back porch.

"How'd your, uh, training go today, Nate?" Laxus asked to which the boy glared at him a bit, suspicious by the pause the man had taken, before shrugging his shoulders.

"Fine," he told the man. "I saw Bickslow too. But I just can't wait until..."

He trailed off too, Nathan did, making a face down at his drink and Laxus looked over at him for a long time.

"Until what, Nate?"

"Just… If I get good enough, I bet Mom will train with me too."

Frowning, Laxus told him, "Mira would work with you now if you-"

"No, I have to get better first."

"What? Why?"

He didn't want to say. But Laxus knew anyways.

Nathan adored Mirajane, of course, but he also respected her immensely. While he thought that Laxus was strong and all, he really thought that Mirajane was the superior mage. He thought she was smarter and faster and just better.

He thought that his mother was the greatest person ever. Mage included.

Which is why he went to Lisanna to work with him, on his magic, instead of her.

He didn't want his mother to know how poorly he did, at times, or how bad he was at remembering spells. That he could goof off just as much as work hard. He wanted his mother to be proud of him. Not to see how much of a screwball he could be at times.

When he was stronger and better at his magic, could hold his transformations longer and could takeover more spirits, well, then they could work together. Then she could show him everything. But until then, he just wanted to only show her the very best. Nothing more.

Nothing meant more to Nathan than his mother's approval.

Nothing.

And Laxus felt that so deeply that the idea that he once questioned rather Nathan was truly his son was asinine.

"My mother never got to see me like this," Laxus told him as he got up to tend to the stuff on the grill. "All grown and shit. A real mage. A real man. Last time she saw me, I was just a sobbing little boy."

"You sound like Elf."

The sentiment made Laxus nearly bit his tongue off. Still, through that, he was able to say, "Yeah, well, there's some shit that we went through when we were young that wasn't too different."

Nathan made a bit of a face as he said, "Mom says that you shouldn't curse, Laxus."

"Mom's not here. It's just us. Men. Ain't it?"

Nathan didn't say anything, only sat there and watched as his father took another sip of his beer. The evening was cool for the time of year, but the sound of crickets in the distance reminded them that it was definitely summertime.

"Sometimes," Laxus told him after a beat went by of silence, "I wanna be able to show her, you know, a lot of things. With my magic and my life. You too. But...I can't. If I had the chance to show her something, I would as soon as I could. Life changes fast, you know."

"Mira's not going anywhere," Nathan told him with a frown. "Stupid."

"Don't call me stupid, brat."

"Then don't be stupid."

"You know, Nathan, I'm tryin' to tell you something and-"

"Maybe I don't wanna listen to it. Why do I gotta listen?'

Laxus thought then, silently, staring out into the night that was slowly approaching, before saying,He "One of the last times I saw my mother alive, Nate, was when I was five or so. She was feeling good that day, so she took me out to a toy store. We didn't have a lot of money, you know, 'cause my father was a mage and she was too sick to work and I was sick too, a lot, and… But she'd saved up some money and she took me out to that toy store to buy just something small. But I was a brat. Like you. I threw a fit because the toy I wanted wasn't something she could afford and it upset my mother real bad. When Ivan came home, I got a swatted a few for it, but I still felt justified. 'cause I'd been told I could have something. And that was what I wanted. And I couldn't figure out why I hadn't been able to get it."

Nathan frowned, staring over at his father, before telling him, "You were a brat."

"And you're not?"

"Not like you. I'd never do that to my mom," he insisted. "Ever. Not even when I was little."

"Maybe that's why you got to keep her. Mira. And I didn't get to keep mine. 'cause you love her so much."

Laxus didn't feel like he'd been drinking too much, but what had fallen out of his mouth felt like something he'd never say otherwise. The statement made Nathan silent once more though and Laxus only sighed as he turned tended to the grill.

It was then though that the others arrived back home. They'd come through the front door, but the sound of them laughing and talking could be heard all the way in the backyard. Nathan, excited then, ditched his father as he went out to greet his mother and show her that Laxus had taken care of dinner.

"Wow, dragon," Mirajane complimented him as she came to give him a kiss on the cheek, their youngest, Ivory, hanging from her arms. "Trying to impress today?"

"Hardly," he remarked, as if to imply that he never had to do so.

He actually meant it shouldn't be that impressive that he got dinner taken care of once every few months.

"Daddy, did you make hot dogs?" Pike came out to peer up at the grill in excitement while Mace and Nate went to wake Gramps for the meal.

"I sure, buddy."

"Daddy always takes care of us, Pike," Mira told him though she was grinning at the slayer and he didn't return it, but did lean over for another kiss.

All the same.

When they sat down to dinner that night, Laxus didn't feel as accomplished as he thought he would. He mostly just felt a bit lost as he spent more time thinking about his mother than he did those who were currently around him. Ivory sat in his lap though and kept patting at his cheek, trying to keep his attention, and he eventually gave in and just gave her nuzzles to the head every time he thought of the deceased.

Mira did the dishes after dinner and Laxus only went to get Ivory ready for bed, telling the boys to help their mother before they did the same. He was just setting Ivory down in her crib when his bedroom door opened and Nathan walked in.

"I thought I told you to help your mom?'"

"I wanted to tell Egg goodnight."

"Don't call your sister that."

But he would, always. Mostly just because it seemed to annoy his parents.

As he came to peer through the bars of her crib, he only said, "I think that Mom was real impressed with dinner."

"Of course she was. The demon ain't hard to win over."

Nathan only paused for a moment before saying, "I bet you liked your mom just as much as I like mine. That's not why someone would die. Just like I liked my dog a whole bunch. But he still died. It just happens. Right?"

Laxus swallowed a bit, as the dog, Two, was rarely mentioned any longer. It hurt the boys too much to think about him. Still, after processing what the child had said, Laxus let out a long breath before nodding his head.

"Yeah, Nate. It does."

"But not to Mira," he told him confidently then before, in a softer voice, adding, "Right? Laxus?"

"Right. Nate."

As the boy left, of to finish his evening chores and get ready for bed, Laxus only moved to sit down on his bed and watch the crib where his daughter was just beginning to drift off for the night.

The kids were all different. Each of them. His boys all had different needs and, as they grew, they'd only drift further into being their own people. He just hoped that he'd always be able to do that. What he'd done with Nate. What he'd done with them all. Always be able to say, maybe not the right thing or the best thing, but definitely something.

He never wanted to have nothing to say to them. Even when they didn't need factious versions of reality, reassurance over their standings in life, or even just a stupid story to pass the time in an effort to connect to them, he hoped that they needed something from him. All three of them.

They meant the world to him. Even though he wasn't always the best at showing it, they really did mean the world to him. He'd never thought of himself as parent, when he was young, but now, as one, ti was the most important thing to him.

He loved them.

And he hoped they knew that.

* * *

 **Y'all didn't think we were gonna come back for everything and just ignore Parenthood, did you? I don't know what's next for this series, there was another, longer story I think I mentioned a while ago that I had planned for it, but right now, I think the one-shot game is the way to go. But nothing's dead here. Parenthood is alive and well.**


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